John stockton be alle



Patented N 0V. 11, 1919.

. II. I ril; V Il r ATTORNEY I. SA. BEALLE.'

TRAP.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18| |918.

WITNEssEs JOHN STOCKTONBEALLE, 0F WALDOBF, MARYLAND.

TRAP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

Application filed July 18, 1918. Serial No. 245,531.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, JOHN STooK'roN BEALLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Valdorf, in the county of Charles and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Traps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to traps, and more particularly to traps of that type employing a casing and a tiltable closure member for the same so as to discharge animals which walk upon said member into the trap.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide a trap of the type stated of simple construction and operation in which the animal, when once deposited in the main casing, will be effectually prevented :from escaping therefrom. A further object is to provide a trap in which upward movement of the tiltable frame is positively limited so as to eifectually prevent esca e of the animal in the event that rit is not eposited within the body portion of the main casing. other object is to provide a trap having a supplemental casing and a cage mounted therein, means being provided for permitting animals which are Vdeposited in the main casing to enter into the cage, this cage being provided with a closure member which is operative exteriorly of the main and supplemental casing, thus permitting animals which have entered the cage Vto be secured therein after which the cage may be removed and the animals drowned or killed in any other suitable manner. Further objects will appear from the detailed description.

1n the drawings .Figure 1 is a top plan View of a trap constructed in accordance with my invention, partly broken Y away g Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the trap,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail perspective of the upper portion of the trap, j

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail front perspective of the cage,

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view through a modified form of closure member for ,controlling communication between the main casing and the cage,

Fig. 6 is a detail the bait container.V

The main casing designated generally by A, is of box like construction being of reotangular shape in crossV section. A downwardly and inwardly inclined closureplate sectional view .through i being held 1 is rigidly secured between the side walls 2 of the body and cooperates with an oppositely inclined closure plate 3 which is hingedly mounted adjacent its upper end on a rod or pintle carried by the front wall 5 of the casing, to form a receiving hopper for directing animals deposited thereon into the body portion of the casing. Closure plate 3 is normally held in raised position by a weight member 6 provided at the outer end thereof, this weight member being such as to normally hold plate 3 in raised or operative position, and permitting. this plate to be readily moved downwardly and inwardly so as to deposit an animal directed into the hopper in the casing, as stated. A door 7 is hingedly secured in the side wall of the casing and is normally secured in closed position frictionally, orany suitable means may `be provided for ysecuring this door closed.

This door permits easy access to the interior of the casing, for cleaning, repairs, and other purposes. A window 8 ofany suitable transparent material is also provided in the front wall 5 for observation purposes.

Vlrl`he top of the casing is normally closed vby a plurality of oppositely directed tiltably mounted plates 9 and 10 which are hingedly secured at their outer ends to the upper edges of the front and back walls 5 and 5, respectively, ofthe main casing. These plates correspond in length to one half the width of the casing so that, when in raised position, the inner edges are inlight contact, thus completely closing the upper end of the casing. Plates 10 are normally held in raised position by weight members formed atl the outer ends thereof, plates 9 in raised position by similar weight members 12 which are protected by a flat housing 13 secured to the front wall of the casing. Weight members 11 are protected by a housing and cover plate 14 which extends outwardly from the upper edge of the back wall 5a of the casing, the outer edge of this coverplate being secured to the outer edge of the top wall 15 of a supplemental casing 16 projecting rearwardly from the main casing, and cooperating with the plate 14 to provide a housing for weights 11. As

will be noticed more clearly from Fig. 2 of.

the drawings, weights 11 and 12 are of substantially triangular shape and when the vau y `vsuitable transparent material so' that when i A' hand, when the plates 9 and 10 are'in raised outer faces of the walls' and 5a of the cas- .Y Jing, the weights*` 11 and 12 thusacting to f positively Alimitiup-ward' 'movement` of -the 'f plates 10 and. 9,'respectively.` Inthis manner,1the weightslin addition to returningtlie i Y y aelosuizerletes fte-Dermal 01T; Closed Position l() 7 Vventupward vmovement of these platesbeso that, in the event that Y an animal deposited into ythe receiving hop- 'A rperf-lor chute formed by plates 1 and 3 does knotfimmediately fall into the interior Vof the 1 yond, the horizontalV also .act 'asstop members to Ypo'sitinely pr'ecasing A, escape ofthis .animal by raising platesf9'and 10 will be eiectually prevented.

f Theback wall 5F of the'main casing is projvided, adjacent .its

20... e Y l f escape opening 18 for animals which are de- Y lower edge, with` an inv wardly4 directed` flange 17 which Vdefines van i' posited within the casing. This opening is` normally closed by ka wardly inclined closure member ordoor -19 which is hingedly securedat itstop, as at T20, tothe ange 17. v

ydownwardly nand out- Inward movement of f this-,door is. positively limited byjV a stop* [member ,or shoulder 21 Whichprojectsffrom l i fthe'bottom 2 2Qof thek main casing. The

" tempt to closure member 19 is madeof glass orother an animal deposited in thefcasing will at.

closure. member.

- vAsfwill be noted .more particularly from -'.Fig. 2 of the drawings the bottom 22 is l formed as a continuation of the front wall 5 andfhas a decided vdownward andrear-n Y ward" inclination. 4o

j In practice, the upper lsurface of this bottom issmoothv'and freeof all roughnesses ori-obstructions. YThe bottomY Vacts toidirect animals which fall into', the casingdownwjardlytoward' thedoor 19.

The supplemental casing 16 is provided,` at the back edge, .of bottom 23f thereof, with a vertical f1ange 2 4.- [This supplemental casingis adapted to receive a removable cage,I Y `Y2574of such VUflange 2i and back wall 5S A, Th vwhich fabric strip-26 is operative between the memsize as' to. fit snugly between the vof main casing iscage is4 provided with a top 28 is vspaced from a topjplate 27.; A

bers28 and 27,V this strip being preferably formed of screen wire of properstrength and corresponding in width to cageI25. Y An .operating handle 29.is secured', v

601 e cage adjacent the inner upper corner there-.f u. of.A This strip 28 eXtendsdownwardly sub- Y to thestrip vof fabric at the outerendthere- Vof,and this strip `is passed ,inwardly and downwardly about' a roller 30 which is,ro\ tatably mounted in the, side walls of. the` 4stantially.Ytwo-thirds of the height of cage i. ,725 and V carries at, its inner end a l jclosure plate 31 secured thereto,

this plate eirtendingl Abein escape therefrom; by liftingthe."

Vthe width., tiene.

the full width of the cage and being provided at` each end with a guide linger 32 which is operativein a guide slot 33 formed guideinger 34 operative in the slotth ese ngersracting to, .insure Yaccurate operation ofthe fabric strip and closure plate 31. Normally, plate31 is held in'raised position so as to permit ready entry intothe cage of an animal from the main casing by means of the escape opening 18. The fabric strip 28 and plate 31 are so related that when the plate is raised to its highest position, the weight of strip 28 combined with the frictional grip thereof on'rtheupper outer corner of the cage end on the guide roller 3U will' serve to maintain this plate raised. VVhen'it is desired to lower the plate, strip 26 is raised and pushed inwardly between ythe top 27 and top plate 28, plate 3l being thus moved intolowered position as illustrated in Fig. 2 and serving to close the cage, movement of plate 31 either inwardly or outwardly being positively prevented by the guide lingers 32 engaging into the slots 33; In this manner, animals which have been deposited'inthe casing A can escape into the cage 25, their return into casing A.

the' fabric strip 28 permits the water to readily enter into the cage for the purpose specified.

The central one of plates 9 is provided with a suitable bait receptacle designated i generally by,35. This receptacle is formedA from an inner vcylindrical container 36 of g ass or other suitable transparent material l provided at its upper end with an outer annular iange `37. `Said container is also provided, at its lower end, with an integral depending downwardly flaring head 38 which fits into a substantially dovetail slot 39 extendingdinwardly from the inner end of member 9, the securing head 38 fitting tightly into the slot sok as to frictionally sesureV the bait receptacle in position. An outer transparent cylinder 40 is mounted loosely about the innercylinder 36 concentrictherewith and is confined between the flange 37 and plate 9.v This outer cylinder kis freelyrotatable so that'when grasped by an animal when one of the tiltable plates is tilted, it will turn easilyv effectually preventingfthe animal from obtaining a suiicient grip upon the bait receptacle to permit Vits escape from the trap. Each Side wall of the main casing is provided with an positively prevented by the closure I upwardly and outwardly directed flange .il which serves to direct the animals upon the tiltable plates 9 and 10. Also, as will be noted more clearly from Fig. 2, the cover plate 14 is inclined downwardly and outwardly from the main casing A thus providing in effect, an incline or a chute by means of which the animals to be trapped may readily walk upwardly onto the tiltable closure plates. Y

lVhen it is desired to use the trap for catching animals of diferent sizes, such as rats and mice, I provide a modified form of closure member or door for closing the escape opening, such as illustrated `in Fig. 5. In this form, the door is provided with an upper main section 19a and a lower section 19b hingedly secured thereto as at 19C. The lower member 19b is transparent, and the lower portion of the upper member 19a is covered with any suitable opaque material, as at 19d to suoli a height as to prevent the mice from seeing through the upper secl tion. This produces a lower transparent closure member through which the smaller animals, such as mice may readily enter the cage 25, the larger and stronger animals also being able to enter the cage in the inanner previously described.

With this construction, the removable cage 25 is inserted into the supplemental casing as shown in Fig. 3 and its plate 31 raised. Lured by the bait, animals now pass over the flat top of the housing onto the plates 9 or 10 which descend as seen in dotted lines and drop them onto the plate 3, this descends and drops them onto the bottom 22, and the inclination of the latter causes them to move downward or slide` downward to the door 19. Through this larger animals may see, even if the opaque portion 19d is employed, and smaller animals will see through the transparent por tion 1,9". The result is thatA the animals are induced to pass into the cage by passing through this door, and the latter swings closed against the shoulder 21. Meanwhile the plates rise under the influence of their weights, and animals within the casing cannot escape otherwise than through the door 19. From time to time the plate 31 is permitted to descend, and the cage is removed and the animals are drowned; after which the cage is restored to position and the trap operates as described.

The foregoing description and the drawings have reference to what may be considered the preferred, or approved form of my invention. It is to be understood that I may make such changes in construction and arrangement and combination of parts, ma-

Gopes of this patent may terials, dimensions, et cetera, as may prove expedient and fall within the scope of the appended claims.

,. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to se! with said'housing when the plate descends and its upright side adapted to contact with the wall of the housing when the plate rises.

2. In a trap, the combination with a casing having an outlet door in the lower portion of one side wall, a supplemental housing projecting from said wall and inclosing said door, and hinged plates at the top of the main casing; of a cage removably insertible into the supplemental. casing, and a movable plate in the inner side of said cage adapted to be set opposite said outlet door when -the cage is removed i'romthe supplemental casing.

3. In a trap, the combination with a casing having an outlet door in the lower portion of one side wall, a supplemental housing projecting from said wall and inclosing said door, and hinged plates at the top of the main casing; of a cage removably insertible into the supplemental housing, and having its inner side open and provided with upright guides, a plate adapted to stand opposite said outlet door and having fingers moving in said guides, a wire screen rising from said plate f and also having' iingers moving in the guides, a roller over which the screen passes along the top of the cage, and a handle at the outer end of the screen. il. In a trap, the combination with a main casing having an outlet opening in one wall, means for trapping an animal within said casing, and a cage outside said wall for receiving trapped animals; of an outlet door hinged at its top at the top of said opening, and a supplemental door hinged to the main door, the supplemental door being transparent andthe main portion of the door above the hingeof the supplemental door being opaque. i In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of a witness.

JOHN SYTOCIKTON BEALLE. Witness: M. E. JONES.

be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

